Question .. if i file for dissolution of marriage on my own, can i later decide to seek legal assistance

Yes, you can begin the process pro se and later seek legal counsel; however, if at all possible, I recommend that you try to seek legal counsel upfront. I've had several clients come to me after starting the process pro se and they fail to properly plead certain things and it costs them more money for me to have to go back and correct things. Good luck.

I agree completely with attorney Semino. You can always hire an attorney later on and the attorney can file a substitution of attorney to take over the case. However, you may prejudice yourself by all of the things you do and don't do without an attorney. And not checking all those boxes and making specific requests will force your attorney to redo everything by filing Amended documents. 22 years with a child? Go see a Florida divorce attorney immediately.

Absolutely. I see parties do this sometimes in an effort to save money on legal fees. However, I agree with Attorney Semino - be cautious about doing this, particularly if you have complex issues which should be plead a certain way in your petition. If its not done properly so as to preserve your legal claims and properly set forth your causes of action, the lawyer you hire later may have to amend your petition anyway, or "fix" other procedural elements of the case.

As the other attorneys indicated, that is certainly done regularly, but pro se litigants also regularly make mistakes. There are motions attorneys can file to try to force the other spouse to pay for the legal fees of the other spouse. If this is likely to succeed, many attorneys would be willing to work out a payment plan that anticipates this.